For Aerobic Standard Plate Counts, dilutions were spread onto Tryptone Soy Agar (Oxoid) supplemented with 1% (w/v) NaCl and incubated for 48 h. For hydrogen sulphide producing bacteria (Shewanella-like), diluents were spread onto Lyngby Iron Agar ( Atlas, 1997) with a 5 mL overlay of molten Lyngby Iron Agar (at 46 °C) and incubated for 96 h. For presumptive Pseudomonas counts, diluents were spread onto Cetrimide Fucidin Cephaloridine (CFC) Pseudomonas agar (Oxoid) and incubated for 48 h. For presumptive Vibriocounts, diluents were spread onto Thiosulphate Citrate Bile Sucrose (TCBS) medium (Oxoid) and incubated for 48 h. For presumptive yeast counts, diluents were spread onto Dichloran Rose-Bengal Chloramphenicol (DRBC) agar (Oxoid) and incubated for 120 h. Growth of suspected yeast colonies on DRBC agar was confirmed by morphology using a compound microscope. For counts of presumptive lactic acid bacteria, pour plates were prepared using de Man, Rogosa, Sharpe (MRS) agar (Oxoid) at 46 °C with a 5 mL overlay of molten (46 °C) MRS agar and incubated for 72 h under the AnaeroGen W-Zip compact system (Oxoid). All counts were estimated via colony counts multiplied by the appropriate dilution factor following incubation at 25 °C. The limit of detection for all spread plates was 100 CFU per gram and 10 CFU per gram for pour plates.